The Texans benched linebacker Zach Cunningham last Sunday for disciplinary reasons and they are now dropping him from the roster altogether.
According to multiple reports, the Texans are waiving Cunningham on Wednesday. He was benched for a quarter earlier this season for violating team rules and was inactive in last Sunday’s loss to the Colts for the same reason.
Cunningham had 67 tackles and a forced fumble while starting seven of the 10 games he played for Houston this year.
Cunningham signed a four-year extension with the Texans before the start of the 2020 season. The move will leave some dead money on their cap, but Cunningham’s salaries for 2022 and beyond were not guaranteed.
They also restructured his contract for this season by converting most of his base salary to a signing bonus. That leaves very money left on the books for the rest of the year and could make Cunningham an appealing pickup on waivers.